Thread Number: 20548
Vacuum testing tools |
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Post# 230610 , Reply# 4   4/30/2013 at 07:49 (4,014 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)   |   | |
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At the Factory is different than different than 'demonstration tools' salesmen use in the home to help sell a machine. The air flow meters, dirt meters, steel balls, marbles, etc. are all designed for salesmen.
Many people don't know this, but UL has a test required for any vacuum sent to UL for certification. All vac manufacturers have to submit to this test. The motor is jammed, usually with a screwdriver, and the machine is hooked up to a volt meter that CAN supply up to 500 volts. A piece of muslin is placed over the machine, in a ventilated booth, and the cleaner is run. Of course it smokes, but the requirement is it cannot catch the muslin on fire. Another test is motor life. This is the test that lets Miele say they have a 2000 hour life to their carbon brushes. The machines are run, hooked up to clocks (hour counters). Miele runs their cleaners on the lowest speed, and then they do indeed get 2000 hours out of their carbon brushes. But on HI speed, it's about 1000. That's still a very long time. There's a cleaning test, where a new piece of carpet is cut and used. The carpet is weighed, and a quantity of test mixture (sand and talc) is rolled into the carpet. The carpet is reweighed and a mechanical arm pushes the cleaner, at a uniform speed, over the carpet for a preset number of 'strokes'. The carpet is weighed again, and the difference is the percentage of dirt removed. Tacony has a brand new cleaner testing facility they just built. It's fascinating to watch the arms push the vacuums. At the Vacuum Collector's Convention, at the factory, in June - everyone attending the convention will get a chance to see the factory and the test facility. |
Post# 230836 , Reply# 6   5/1/2013 at 14:21 (4,013 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)   |   | |
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Yes, the devices (like the mechanical arm) are custom made. When I was President of the VCCC, we went to Kirby and Filter Queen one year for the convention. Kirby had a whole room devoted to testing the cleaners. I talked them into giving us a sample of the test rug. Someone in the VCCC has it now. It's orange with black arrows indicating the direction the cleaners should be propelled along. Tacony has a very similar test facility.
Anyone can come to the Museum at any time. If you call me the day before, I'll make sure to set up a factory tour and can show how a cleaner is made from injection molding, to painting, to assembly. I can also show off the brand new test facility they just built for testing cleaners (they test all brands - not just Tacony products). |
Post# 230960 , Reply# 10   5/2/2013 at 17:13 (4,011 days old) by super-sweeper (KSSRC Refurbishment Center)   |   | |
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Here's a clip showing Hoover assembling the "Senior" Model, along with testing the senior with the "Ground-in sand drum" and testing the Constellation's hose.
-Alex. CLICK HERE TO GO TO super-sweeper's LINK |